


Safe and Sound

by yellow_canary



Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Babies, Everybody Lives, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Helena Karev, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Organ Transplantation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28459926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellow_canary/pseuds/yellow_canary
Summary: Jo and Alex figure out they're the same blood type, as they figure out what blood type their baby will be. Yet they never thought it would come in handy until Alex ends up in the ER.
Relationships: Alex Karev/Jo Wilson
Comments: 12
Kudos: 31





	Safe and Sound

**Author's Note:**

> This is a prompt for Maddie, enjoy and Happy New Year!

Alex was standing at the nurses’ station holding his tablet and looking over his Post-OP charts when all of a sudden Jo flung herself into his arms. She was so desperate to get into his arms that she pressed the tablet he was holding up against him as she hugged him. 

“Hey,” Alex said, moving his arm to hold her as she buried her face in his chest and began to sob. “Jo, what is it?” 

Jo didn't respond so Alex just wiggled the tablet out from in between them and put it on the desk before he wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her into the office behind the nurses’ station, avoiding the look from the other staff around him. Alex shut the door behind them and held Jo closer. She clung to him with her fingers digging into his white coat as she pressed herself up against him. 

“Jo what is it, what's wrong?” Alex asked as Jo shook her head against his chest and pulled back. Her eyes were full of tears and her face was red and puffy. Alex tried not to panic as he rubbed his hand up and down her arms. Jo took several deep breaths before she could manage to speak. 

“Lauren’s husband died,” Jo said before the tears started again and he pulled back in to hug her as she laid her head on Alex's shoulder. “He was walking home from the store and this car just came out of nowhere. And I had to console Lauren and keep her from getting out of bed so she didn't go into labor. She's been on the Maternity ward for two months trying to keep herself and their babies alive and everything's worked, but then he just dies in some freak accident and now she's all alone and it's not fair.”

Alex just nodded and wrapped his arms tightly around her. He pulled her back and sat down in one of the chairs, pulling her into his lap. It was a little awkward with the small office chair and Jo couldn't seem to get close enough to him. Eventually, they settled with Jo sitting sideways in his lap with her legs over the armrest. Alex held her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she turned and hid her face in his neck. He rubbed his hands up and down her spine. Feeling his hands on her had always helped Jo calm down and she started to take deeper breaths, despite how the tears seemed to never stop.

“You can't die before me,” Jo said, picking up her head and looking him in the eye. “You can't leave me alone. And you can't die until we're old and grey and we’ve retired to a house in the suburbs. I don’t care if you don’t remember me half the time, or if you lose your ability to walk or if you're in a diaper or something. You can't leave me alone. We have to die together like the freaking notebook or you can't die at all.”

“Oh I'm dying before I lose my bowels,” Alex smirked, but bit his lip and nodded solemnly, seeing how serious she was. “I promise, I will do everything in my power to not die without you. And not until we’ve retired to a house in the suburbs with a dozen grandkids around us, or at least a few dogs if our kids decide not to have kids.”

Jo cracked a smile and nodded before she rested her head against his shoulder. He rubbed her back and felt her breathe hot air against his neck. Alex knew that realistically he couldn't promise her that, but he still did it because he'd be damned if he left her before they had a full and happy life together.

One of the new interns that he hadn't learned the name of yet opened the door and froze when she saw them sitting in the chair together. 

“Get out,” Alex gruffed, frowning as he glared at them. 

The intern stumbled with the door and with an apology before she finally managed to close it and Alex heard their sneakers squeak down the hall. 

Jo pulled back and frowned, giving his arm a light slap. “Don't be mean to Young Ortiz. She's actually quite nice.” 

“I'll be nice to the interns when they stop being interns,” Alex grumbled, as Jo put her hand on his chin and giggled as she pulled him down to kiss his lips.

“They have a nickname for you you know?” Jo smirked, running her fingers over the scruff of his beard.

“Oh really?” Alex said, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah, they call you Dr. Grumpy,” Jo said, giggling as she covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile.

“Dr. Grumpy!” Alex exclaimed. He had half a mind to put Jo down and go chase after the intern and insist they call him by his proper title of Dr. Karev or he’d drown them in scut.

Jo just laughed, the sound filling the room and Alex couldn't help but smile. He loved the sound of Jo's laughter and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Jo pulled back before she leaned in and kissed him. Her lips were soft and they tasted like the honey chapstick he got her last week. Alex lingered on her lips, wishing they could stay like that for a little bit longer, but knowing that they both had surgeries scheduled that afternoon. 

“Do you want me to order pizza and we can have a movie night on the couch tonight?” Alex offered as Jo stood up. He missed her warm body against him the moment she was gone and pulled her in for one last hug.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Jo said, untangling herself from him before she went over to the door. She paused and looked back at him, her hand on the door handle.

“I love you,” she whispered, her eyes soft and warm.

“I love you too,” he whispered as she gave him one last smile before she walked out the door.

* * *

“Hey,” Alex said, coming up behind her and putting his hand on her belly. 

Jo smiled from where she sat on the couch in the attending lounge as Alex leaned into peck her lips and she felt the baby kick against his hand. At six months pregnant Jo had a prominent belly that Alex couldn't keep his hands off of. He was the only person that she let touch her without asking. Alex's hands were always welcome and his voice usually made their baby kick happily inside of her.

“Hey you,” Jo said as she turned around and watched Alex walked around and collapse on the couch next to her. “I take it your surgery went well.”

“Yep, baby Billy's got a brand new kidney and has already started putting out urine,” Alex said, laying down to press his face against her belly.

“He peed on you?” Jo guessed as she sat back and made room for his head, noting the smell of his body wash and new scrubs.

“Oh yeah, I got completely drenched when I checked on him post-op. I had to take a shower and everything.” Alex sighed and Jo laughed. She ran her hands through his wet hair as the baby kicked against Alex's face. “Hey, you be nice to your old man.”

“I think they're trying to tell you not to squish their legs,” Jo laughed again as Alex moved his head back from where it was squished against her belly. 

Alex moved his head to rest on her lap and put his hand against her bump. It couldn't have been the most comfortable position, but Alex closed his eyes. Jo went back to her post-op notes until her phone dinged as her little side project labs came back.

“You're O Negative with a negative Rh factor,” Jo said as Alex grumbled in reply, nodding his head. “And I'm O negative with a negative Rh factor and our tissue typing and cross-matching match, which means our baby will probably be O negative with a negative Rh factor.”

“Hm that also means that we could give each other an organ if we needed to,” Alex mumbled, his voice muffled by her scrub top. 

“Well, if you ever need a kidney, I'd be happy to give you one of mine, and if this baby needs a kidney or liver you or I could be a donor.”

“Our kid is perfect Jo,” Alex said, opening his eyes and looking up at her. 

“I know it's just that we're surgeons, Alex. We know what could go wrong and...” Jo paused to put a hand on her belly as her baby kicked her again. “I worry.”

“I know,” Alex said, sitting up and putting both of his hands over hers on her belly. “But our baby is healthy, see.”

Alex pulled out the latest ultrasound photo that he kept in his wallet and Jo smiled at the scan, tracing the outline of their baby's head. “I know”

“Besides,” Alex said, leaning back down to lay his head in her lap again. “If anyone needs an organ transplant it’s probably gonna be you. How’s your kidney infection, any pain.” 

“No, I'm fine and the antibiotics seem to be working, but Carina said she’d check my kidneys at the next ultrasound in a week,” Jo said as she put their baby's blood type in their file and went back to her post-op notes.

“Good,” Alex said, closing his eyes with a yawn. Jo smiled as she ran her finger through his hair before he fell asleep, snoring lightly in her lap. Quiet nights like this, in on-call rooms or in the lounge were her favorite, just Alex and her, for now, together.

* * *

Alex cursed the driver in front of him as they swerved. He slowly stepped off the gas and let them speed ahead of him. He looked down at the clock in the car, at this rate he would still get back to the hospital before Jo finished nursing Helena. Even after he stopped to get donuts. At first, he was just going to get the Thai, but then he drove past the donut shop. Alex couldn't stop thinking about the powdered donuts that she stole from dermatology to give to him and had ended up stopping to get them two powdered donuts. 

Alex stopped at the red light just a few blocks away from the hospital and he thought of how Jo would smile when she saw the powdered donuts. Alex missed her and Helena. He had seen them that morning, but he still wasn't used to being back at work full-time and he missed them.

All of a sudden his car jerked forward as someone hit him from behind and pushed him into oncoming traffic. The airbag didn't deploy and a second car hit the side of his car. Alex slammed against the steering wheel as his head hit the dashboard. Alex's vision went dark. The last thing he saw was Jo and Helena smile’s before he lost consciousness.

* * *

“Are you sure you don’t want any?” Link asked as she sat down in the rocking chair in the daycare’s kitchen. He pulled the warm leftover container of Fettuccine Alfredo out of the microwave with one hand as he held Scout. 

“I’m good, thanks. Alex just ran out to pick up Thai for us and he should be back soon,” Jo said gently rocking in the chair as she pulled up her scrub top and undid her bra to nurse Helena.

“No problem, If you change your mind Amelia always gives me extra leftovers, she thinks I eat more than I actually do.” Link said as he got set up with Scout in the highchair at the table next to them and gave him a few slices of cheese from his lunch. “Besides I know how hungry Amelia gets when she’s breastfeeding.”

“And it takes forever. How is it that someone with such a teeny tiny stomach takes forever to eat,” Jo said, glancing down at Helena as she latched on and nursed at her breast. Helena just closed her eyes and grunted, just like Alex did when he ate, making Jo smile. 

“At least he doesn't gobble down everything in sight,” Link said handing Scout another piece of cheese that the baby instantly grabbed and put in his mouth. “Slow down there buddy and remember to chew.”

Jo laughed as she watched Scout reach forward for another piece of cheese that Link placed on the high chair tray. 

“Hey I thought I might find you down here,” Amelia said as she appeared in the doorway with her plate of lunch and leaned down to greet Link with a kiss. 

Scout used the opportunity to lean forward with his mouth and take a bite of the cheese slice in Link's hand. While Jo stifled a laugh and watched. She was never one to spoil her nephews' fun and the baby was getting better at taking appropriate sized bites.

“Hey you,” Link said, as he pulled his hand back, but not before Scout had taken a mouthful and was smiling as he ate. Amelia and Jo both laughed, as Amelia pulled up a chair next to them.

“Hey, are we eating lunch down here?” Meredith asked as she and Maggie peeked their head in the doorway with Ellis next to them before they both came in.

Ellis raced to snag the rocking chair next to Jo, leaning over to give Jo a hug as she hung off of Jo’s neck. “Hi Auntie JoJo, hi baby Helena.”

“Hi Ellis, are you gonna eat lunch with us today?” Jo said, hugging her back with her one free arm.

“Yep,” Ellis replied as Meredith pulled up a chair next to them and brought out the side table as she handed Ellis her lunch.

“Look at all of us with our babies. Who knew, looking back at us a few years ago that we'd be doing this one day?” Amelia said, gesturing to the room around them. 

“Not me,” Jo smiled as she looked down at Helena in her arms, tracing her fingers over her little hand that gripped Jo’s necklace. She looked over at Link next to her who smiled at Scout as he ate a handful of Cheerios. “And certainly not you.”

“Yeah that's for sure,” Link said with a laugh. 

“I kinda feel left out. I'm the last one in our friend group that doesn’t have a kid,” Maggie said, looking down as she stirred her berries into her yogurt.

“You should have a baby Auntie Maggie,” Ellis said, her mouth full of crackers.

“It's not that bad of an idea. I mean you and Winston are pretty serious,” Amelia said with a smirk as she nudged Maggie with her toe.

“No, no, we can't have a baby now,” Maggie said, shaking her head at all of them, and looked back at Ellis. “Maybe later Ellie Belly.”

“That's okay Auntie Maggie, Auntie JoJo has my baby,” Ellis said, leading forward and rubbing Helena’s arm as Helena opened her eyes and grabbed onto Ellis's hand. 

Their adorable bond made everyone laugh and smile. From the moment Jo had gotten pregnant, Ellis had been obsessed with her baby. When Ellis finally met Helena, the two of them became inseparable. Ellis absolutely adored her and Helena would stop and stare at Ellis whenever she saw her. Jo knew that the two of them would be best friends as they grew up and that Ellis would always look out for her. 

The conversation changed to the surgeries they were each doing that afternoon as they ate their lunch and fed their kids. Helena finally finished nursing and Jo wiped away the milk that had dripped down her chin, as Helena smiled looking absolutely milk drunk. After Jo burped Helena, she let Ellis hold her before Helena grew tired. 

She settled Helena in her arms pulling a blanket over her shoulder to cover Helena and make it less stimulating so she could sleep. Just like her mother after pizza night on the couch, Helena quickly fell asleep. Jo continued to hold her as she slept, enjoying the feeling of her baby in her arms and delaying her return to work for just a few more minutes.

“Hey April, come to join us for lunch?” Meredith said as April appeared in the doorway.

Jo’s smile disappeared as April locked eyes with her. April's look of urgency and desperation turned Jo's blood cold as April took a step towards her.

“Jo, it's Alex.”

Jo stopped breathing the moment she heard April speak. April asked her to follow her and Meredith asked to take Helena. Jo spared her sleeping daughter, one last look before she handed her over to Meredith and followed April as they ran out of the daycare down to the ER.

“He lost a lot of blood… The airbag didn’t go off… The steering wheel punctured his abdomen…. We're not sure if we can save his liver…” 

Jo got bits and pieces of what April said as they rushed down to the ER. All she could think about was how Alex kissed her goodbye that morning, on the Peds floor and promised to go out and get her favorite Thai dish for lunch. She didn't see anything around her until she was standing in the hallway of the ER staring into trauma room one. She saw Alex's shoes lying on the gurney, but she didn't register that it was Alex on the bed with Hunt, Bailey, and Schmitt working on him. 

“Jo,” Bailey's voice caught her attention as Bailey called her by her first name. She stopped working on Alex as April took her place and walked over to Jo. “We’re just about to take him up to surgery now. He is stable but still critical. We're going to repair the damage, but he may need a liver transplant.”

Bailey led her away from the trauma room and over to the nurses’ station, pulling up a chair and forcing Jo to sit in it. Jo just stared at the trauma room and watch from the windows as they worked on Alex. 

“Sharon, call UNOS and see if there's a liver for Dr. Karev. He's O Negative…”

“I'm O negative, I'm a match. I ran the test when I was pregnant because I wanted to know about Helena, but Alex and I are a match,” Jo said, looking up at Bailey and grabbing her hand. 

“Jo,” Bailey said softly, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. Jo knew that Bailey would protest, but she also knew that it was Alex’s best chance at getting a liver.

“Do it. Take a part of my liver and give it to Alex, please,” Jo begged her.

“Okay.”

Bailey took her upstairs and ran the test again. They confirmed that she and Alex were a match and before Jo knew it she was in a gown and laying on the OR table. Ginger was standing over her and putting a warm blanket over her legs. It all happened so quickly and Jo was thankful for that because she didn't have time to worry about Alex when she was getting prepped for her own surgery. 

Meredith walked in, with Link behind her, carrying Helena and Jo smiled as her baby squealed when she saw her. Throughout this whole thing, Jo didn’t worry about where Helena was, because she knew that Meredith and Link would look out for her. 

“I thought you'd want to see her before you go under,” Link said, putting Helena on her chest as Jo put one arm around her baby, closing her eyes as she kissed her forehead.

“How's Alex?” Jo asked, running her fingers over Helena’s chubby arm and over her fingers as Helena wrapped her hand around Jo's finger. 

“He's doing okay,” Meredith nodded at her, having already scrubbed as the nurses helped her put on her gown and gloves. “Hunt and Bailey have repaired the damage to his spleen and are working on the liver.”

Jo nodded, before looking up at Link. “Can you stay with her until Alex or I wake up?” 

She was still so little and Jo second guessed what she was doing, knowing how easily surgery could go wrong. She couldn't bear the thought of her little girl losing both of her parents, but she also couldn't bear the thought of being able to save Alex's life and not doing so. 

“Of course. We’ll be right outside during surgery and we’ll be here when you wake up.” Link said, as he put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“Okay, ready to get started, Jo?” Meredith asked, approaching the table ready for surgery. 

Jo nodded and kissed Helena’s head one last time before Link lifted her up. The anesthesiologist put the mask over her face, asking her to count down from ten and before she knew it she was asleep.

* * *

“Listen to me Karev,” Bailey said as she stood over Alex's open abdomen and stared down at the empty space. He was ready to receive a liver from his wife who was on an operating table in the other room. “I had five interns and now all five of you have been on my table. Now three out of five of you have survived, and you better survive too. You got a wife and baby waiting for you when you wake up. So you'd better not pull anything funny on me.”

“Here is the liver!” Schmitt said coming in and carrying the bowl up to her. 

“It looks good,” Owen said, observing the liver. “Let's get it prepared for implantation.” 

“How’s the other Dr. Karev?” Bailey asked, still looking down at Alex. 

“Jo is doing great, Grey is just closing her now,” Schmitt said with a nod. 

Nobody in that room knew what they would do if they lost Jo or Alex on the table. So they did everything in their power to ensure that both of the Karev’s lived. 

* * *

Most people think they would dream when they're in surgery, but when they’re under anesthesia they’re not sleeping so they don’t dream. 

Alex remembered that from the time he took a bullet in the hospital shooting. He remembered drifting in and out of consciousness and dreaming when Lexie and Mark worked on him, but during surgery, everything went black. It felt like only a minute had passed when in reality it was hours.

The same was true this time around. One minute Alex was staring at the donuts in his passenger seat and the next he was opening his eyes to see the ceiling of the hospital. It was dark outside and the only light came from the bedside lamp next to him and Alex could hear the rain patter against the window.

Alex remembered that he had woken up yesterday and briefly remembered Meredith being above him, but he had been in and out of it as the morphine made him sleepy. Alex remembered being conscious enough to hear them say they were slowly weaning him down to a lower dose that afternoon and they were all waiting for him to come around.

“Hey, took you long enough,” Cristina Yang's voice filtered into his barely conscious ears as he turned his head to see her sitting in the chair next to his bed and reading a medical journal. “We all thought you were going to fall into a coma or something.”

Alex only groaned as he looked around the otherwise empty room. The only thing he could think of was of Jo and Helena and their smiles flashed through his memory again. He had to tell them that he was okay. He couldn't bear the thought of Jo thinking that she lost him. 

“Where's Jo... and Helena,” Alex asked, his throat was dry and scratchy as he tried to speak.

“Relax,” Cristina said in her nonchalant way as she got up and poured him a cup of water. She came over and handed him the cup, waiting for him to take a sip. “Jo’s in the next bed over sound asleep and Helena’s in the bassinet at the end of her bed. Let them sleep, they’ve been at your bedside all day.”

Alex nodded and watched Cristina as she returned to her chair. She resumed reading her magazine and Alex looked around the room as he slowly woke up. 

“Why are you here?” Alex asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The last time Cristina had come to the U.S. was after Derek died. 

“I’m still your health care proxy,” Cristina said, as she went back to reading her medical journal. “And since Jo was a mess, somebody had to step in and make the decisions. So I hoped on a plane and here I am.” 

“Wait, if you're here in Seattle then how long have I been out?”

“Two days Evil Spawn,” Cristina said, flipping the page. “By the way, that kid of yours looks exactly like you. It's a good thing Jo loves you, cuz she's going to be staring at your face reflected in her child's for the rest of her life.”

“Shut up my kids’ beautiful,” Alex said as he took another sip of the water.

“I never said she wasn’t pretty. Most babies look like their fathers anyway, it’s a biological thing. She’s quite cute actually, which is nice considering most babies just look like blobs of flesh,” Cristina said with a nod as he handed her the empty cup.

“Can I see them, please?” Alex asked, looking to where the curtain was drawn to separate the two beds. 

Cristina nodded and pulled the curtain aside so he could see where the bassinet was set up at the end of the other bed. She picked up Helena who remained sound asleep and brought her over to place her in the crook of Alex's arm. Alex let out a sigh of relief as he held Helena. He didn't care that his stitches still hurt or that his arms were limited by his IVs as he brought his hand over to trace along her cheeks that were chubby like his were. 

“Can you wake up Jo, I want to see her too?” Alex said not looking away from Helena.

“I'll let her wake up on her own,” Cristina said, reaching down to pat his leg. “She’s still sleepy from surgery.”

“Jo assisted in my surgery?” 

“Not your Surgery,” Cristina said, she was never one to dodge any of his questions which was what Alex loved about her. “You needed a liver transplant and Jo was a match and because the situation was emergent, Meredith and Bailey operated to take part of Jo’s liver and give it to you.”

“Is she okay?” 

“She's fine. The surgery went well, and she's recovering. Better than you are I might add.”

Alex nodded and looked down at Helena, leaning down to kiss her head. “Can I see Jo, please?”

Cristina nodded and pulled back the curtain so he could see Jo as she slept soundly in the bed next to him. She was still hooked up to an IV and monitors, but Cristina was right, she looked better than he did. Her stats were good and she snored as she slept.

Alex let out a deep sigh of relief, knowing that his wife and child were safe and that he was too. Alex knew that Jo would drag him back from the afterlife if he died. He didn't know what he believed happened after you died but he was sure that he would never forgive himself if he died on her. 

He looked down at his child who slept peacefully in his arms and over it Jo who was recovering from surgery but was alive and well and he relished in the moment of being alive. Helena squirmed in his arms and he got a glimpse of the black onesie she was wearing, which was not an onesie he had seen before.

Alex pulled down the blanket to see that she was wearing an onesie with red lettering of ‘Evil Spawn’s Spawn.”

“Yang!” Alex hissed, startling Helena as she jerked her hands up and Cristina just laughed in her chair.

* * *

Jo was instantly awake as she woke up to the sound of her baby crying. The sounds of Helena’s cries woke her up every night. Although Jo was used to it, she couldn't stop the panic feeling she got at the sound of her crying. The panic wouldn't go away until Helena was comforted.

“Meredith,” Jo called out, seeing that her baby wasn't in the bassinet at the end of her bed. Meredith had helped her take care of Helena as Jo had a limited range of motion as she recovered from the surgery. 

“Good, you're awake,” Cristina said, coming around the curtain and immediately putting Helena and Jo’s arms. “Meredith changed her diaper, but she wouldn't go back to sleep. Alex tried to calm her down before she started crying but...”

“She's probably just tired and maybe hungry,” Meredith said, coming around the curtain as well. “I gave her a bottle an hour ago, but she didn't drink very much of it.”

Jo nodded, knowing that Helena wasn’t used to taking a bottle. She looked down at Helena, Jo held her against her chest before she started patting her bottom and shushing in her ear. It didn't take long for Helena to calm down and for her little cries to turn into snores as she fell asleep. 

“How’s Alex?” Jo asked looking up at Meredith and Cristina, now that Helena was settled. They smiled and just pulled back the curtain so she could see Alex's bed. 

“Hey you,” Alex said as he smiled at her from where he sat up in bed.

Jo put a hand over her mouth as a sob came out of her throat. After two days of waiting for him to wake up and staring at him sleeping next to her, there he was. 

“You're awake,” Jo said, taking in the sight of Alex’s beautiful brown eyes staring back at her. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm good,” Alex said he's lopsided smile across his lips and Jo didn’t realize how much she missed it.

Jo tried to get up out of bed, swinging her legs over the side and trying to stand up, but two days post-op and with a baby in her arms it was difficult. Cristina and Meredith quickly rushed to her side putting an arm around her.

“Jo just sit back,” Meredith said, gently pushing on her shoulder. 

“Jo please listen to them and lay back down,” Alex said, leaning forward trying to help from his bed.

“Please,” Jo begged them looking up at Meredith. “I have to touch him and know that this isn’t all a dream.” 

“Okay,” Meredith said, reluctantly. “Give me Helena and Cristina can help you up.”

“Why me,” Cristina complained, but still put her arm around Jo’s waist.

“Do you want to hold the baby instead?” Meredith asked her, giving her a look and knowing Cristina's answer.

Cristina just grumbled and helped Jo take a few steps over to Alex's bed. Alex reached out and Jo grabbed his hand holding it close to her heart. It was only then that she sighed in relief as she felt Alex’s pulse under her fingers. 

The hospital bed was a tight fit for both of them, but Jo managed to lay down next to him as he put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head. Cristina and Meredith helped them get settled and pulled the blanket over them before Meredith placed Helena on Jo's chest. Alex put one hand on Helena's back, rubbing up and down. She seemed content to sleep on Jo’s chest with both of her parents nearby. Cristina and Meredith quietly slipped away and Jo was grateful for a moment alone with Alex. 

“I thought I lost you,” Jo whispered, turning her head to look at him. “Staring at you in the trauma room, I thought I lost you.”

“You didn't,” Alex said, squeezing his arm around her shoulders. “I once made a promise to you that I wouldn't die without you and not until we were both old and grey and it’s a promise I intend to keep.” 

“Good,” Jo nodded and watched as Alex looked down at Helena before he closed his eyes.

She knew the morphine would make him sleepy for a few days, but she didn't mind. Just having him close to her and knowing that he was out of the woods was enough for her. Jo looked down at her husband and her baby and put her hand over his as she watched her family sleep, safe and sound.

**Author's Note:**

> Just for reference, this takes place over the course of a year or so. So the first scene is before Jo gets pregnant, and when she's about six months pregnant, and the accident happens when Helena’s a few months old.


End file.
